"Don't Forget Sivas"

On Thursday, 2 July, around 7,000 people gathered at the pier in Kadıköy, Istanbul, to commemorate the arson of the Madimak Hotel in Sivas, where 37 people died in 1993.

The crowd demanded that the hotel be converted into a museum.

People at the rally told bianet that they expected the state to apologise, and that they would not become the "state Alevis" that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) was trying to create.

Nagihan Çapa said, "For the last sixteen years, we have been burning again every 2 July. Our pain does not end, and authorities are doing nothing to reduce our pain."

"Instead of healing our wounds, the state is trying to create discord among Alevis and is rekindling the fire. I want to stand together, with all Alevis, against reactionary attitudes, fanaticism, and fascism. We have to do this for our people who burnt in Madımak."

Şafak G. said, "Our pain will not end unless those responsible for the fire are found and tried. I wonder how those who robbed us of Hasret Gültekin's saz and Metin Altıok's poems will give account to history."

Nazlı Can Ergül asked, "When will the pain and murders in this country end?"

She listed events that are loaded with pain for Alevis: Maraş in 1978, where over 100 Alevis were killed, the hotel arson in Sivas in 1993, Çorum in 1980, where 57 leftist, mostly Alevis, were killed, Gazi neighbourhood in Istanbul in 1995, when 15 people died.

"The state forgets very quickly about the things that happen to people who are not 'on its side'."

Gülistan Karakoç said, "I am Kurdish and Sunni, but I also burnt in Madımak. That is why I attend rallies every 2 July."

She added, "I don't want to look back towards the dead, but I want to reach out to our youth. I want everyone who supports human rights to share everyone else's hopes and pain."

The rally was supported by Grup Yorum, which sang songs and marches.

While the music was playing, Hasan Hüseyin Kırgız told bianet, "I am from Sivas, but sometimes I hesitate to tell people where I am from. I suffer twice from the event that took place where I was born. The fact that the hotel is still there makes me angry. This state has to apologise to Alevis, by turning Madımak into a museum. Even if an apology does not bring those back who died in the fire, it might relieve our sadness a little."

Thousands of people shouted the slogan "Don't forget Sivas and don't let others forget."

Click here for photos of the rally. (BÇ/AG)